S.U.P.E.R. Program

Overview

Substance Use Parent Education Resource (S.U.P.E.R.)… The four-session, bilingual, free, family series focuses on bringing parents and teens together to develop positive family relationships, improve communication, and address substance use.

Parent Pledge

"I will ensure that all social events in my home for teens are chaperoned by a parent and that I will not serve alcohol or allow alcohol or other drugs to be used by teens at my home."TAKE THE PLEDGE >

Families are permitted to participate in the S.U.P.E.R. Program twice ~ once as a prevention measure and once as an intervention.

Program Highlights

Classes are facilitated by professional therapists and educators, usually the Youth Service Specialist at the child’s school. The four-session series focuses on increasing parental involvement with their children, building teen self-esteem, and improving family communication skills. They also include discussions about the legal, psychological, and physical aspects of substance abuse.

The SUPER Program includes various instructional methods such as lecture, video, role-playing, and interactive techniques — all are aimed at helping participants acquire specific skills.

The goals of the SUPER Program are to…

Prevent drug and alcohol use among youth

Identify and stop teen drug and alcohol use

Reduce family conflict

Improve school attendance

Increase knowledge about effects of drugs and alcohol

Improve relationships between parents and teens

Create a home discipline structure that works

What will my family learn from SUPER classes?

How to help youth stay alcohol and drug free

How to identify signs of drug and alcohol use

Family conflict resolution skills

Communication skills

How to make better decisions and stick by them

The Substance Use Prevention Education Resource (S.U.P.E.R.) Program is a free, bilingual, early family intervention program that offers an educational group for parents and their teenage children.

The program consists of four sessions, held once a week for four weeks at the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Center. The sessions focus on increasing parental involvement with their children, teen self-esteem, and family communication skills, and include discussions about the legal, psychological, and physical aspects of substance abuse. The S.U.P.E.R. Program includes various instructional methods such as lecture, video, role-playing, and interactive techniques; all are aimed at helping participants acquire specific skills to cope with the pressures they face in their respective environments.

At least one parent/guardian must attend all four sessions with their child, but students benefit most when both parents attend. If both parents are not able to attend, it is recommended that the same parent attend all four sessions. Families participate in the S.U.P.E.R. Program for one of the following reasons:

Mandatory Attendance (Intervention). The junior high or high school student has been suspended for alcohol or other drug (AOD) use or possession of controlled substances at school, during school, or at any school functions. The Assistant/Vice Principal or Youth Service Specialist will refer the student to the S.U.P.E.R. Program which is offered as an alternative to mandatory school transfer and must be completed within 45 school days according to Santa Barbara Administrative Regulation 5144.1.

Non-mandatory Attendance (Prevention). The Assistant/Vice Principal, Youth Service Specialist, or any agency representative may notify families with students participating in risky behavior about the S.U.P.E.R. Program. The sessions are offered as a resource to help families before an alcohol or drug offense is committed.

Classes are held as two-hour sessions, once a week for four weeks at the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Center, 1111 Garden Street.

FEES

There is no charge for this program.

Program Facts & Stats

Students who complete the SUPER Program show statistically significant improvement in overall drug knowledge, parent-adolescent communication, home self-esteem, perceived harm of alcohol- and marijuana-use, and actual alcohol and marijuana use.

Parents show statistically significant improvement in overall drug knowledge, parent-adolescent communication, parental monitoring, parent communication skills, parent communication with teachers, parent reactions and consequences and the number of persons for whom the parent has contact information (a measure of parental monitoring). These results, along with numerous letters of appreciation from parents and students, point to the value of the S.U.P.E.R. Program in the Santa Barbara Community.

Testimonials

"I wish this could be offered to all teens as part of their required community service hours, hopefully it would bring more parents and teens together in such an educational and supportive setting. The Facilitator was an excellent coordinator, being able to maintain boundaries, get most people to participate and feel safe." ~Parent

"The SUPER Program has taught me to think about the things I do before I do it. I really appreciated the Facilitator for taking the time to teach me and my mom better ways of communication. Thank you so much.." ~Student

"The SUPER Program brought me closer to my dad! It allowed me to hear things that needed to be heard and say things that needed to be said. It allowed me and my dad to communicate a lot easier and better! I can honestly say SUPER has opened my eyes about drinking and smoking! I quit both drinking and smoking and SUPER had influence on that!" ~Student

"The best part of this program is the opportunity to empathize with my son (about the difficulty of peer pressure) and have him empathize with me about the way his behaviors and attitudes affect me. The program has offered some really good guidelines for communicating and learning to create an environment wherein he’s allowed to become his own person but not take so many risks." ~Parent